Macleans College musicians gain a place in prestigious regional finals

Five Macleans College chamber music groups recently took to the stage in the district rounds of the 2024 NZCT Chamber Music contest held at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre in Newmarket, Auckland.

The groups performed an eclectic mix of instrumental combinations and repertoire to an impressed audience.

One of the groups, Kleznet, featuring Selina Wang of Upham House (clarinet), Jasper Qiao of Kupe (clarinet) and William Lee of Rutherford (piano), performed Konzertstuck a la Feidman by Istavn Kohan.

The group, Vienna Trio, featuring Raghav Pattni of Rutherford (clarinet), Dalton Ma of Rutherford (viola) and Selina Wang of Upham (piano), performed the first movement of Mozart’s Trio in Eb Major K.498 and the sixth movement of Bruch’s 8 pieces for clarinet, viola and piano.

The Originals, featuring Olivia Liu of Kupe (flute), Catherine Yuan of Batten (cello) and Chanel Gao of Te Kanawa (piano), performed the first and second movements of Weber’s Flute Trio in G minor opus. 63.

Mac Cheese, a group featuring William Lee (clarinet), Dalton Ma (viola) and Alex Bian of Rutherford (piano), performed Bruch’s 8 pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano.

Finally, the impressive and highly successful group, Saxy Men, featuring Quinn Zhong of Upham (soprano sax), Ethan Zhang of Kupe (alto sax), Adrian Chan of Te Kanawa (tenor sax) and Leo Mamedov of Kupe (baritone sax), performed a show stopping rendition Sevilla by Isaac Albeniz.

Kleznet and Saxy Men won a place in the finals which were held on Sunday 9 June. Saxy Men have now been invited to the Northern Region final which will be held on Saturday 22 June.